Grace and peace to you from God, the ever-faithful one, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus, who is our Christ. Amen.
15 And Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back home to live with her own people and gods; go with her.”
16-17 But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”
This passage, in its many translations, has become a familiar text to read at weddings. The words speak of commitment, faithfulness, and perseverance, qualities that in today’s world, are in increasingly short supply.
- Commitment to an employer? It is rare to find a person today who has worked an entire career at one company. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of Baby Boomers, the average employee makes 12 job changes throughout their lifetime. And most employers are no different, using right-to-work policies to eliminate workers for any reason, or no reason at all.
- Commitment to a marriage? Depending on the survey, 40-50% of first marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, most in the first five years. The marriage rate is declining as well, with more young people choosing not to marry.
- And closer to home, commitment to a faith organization in the United States has dropped, with the percentage of people connected to a church, synagogue, mosque, or other organized faith group now is less than 50% of the adult population.
Commitment has become counter-cultural. So this passage about faithfulness stops us in our tracks.
The opening line of the lesson says these people lived in the time of the Judges. So, we’ve skipped over a couple of centuries since Moses received the tablets recording the Ten Commandments and the people of Israel entered Canaan.
Let’s fill in some pieces. Last week, Moses and the Israelites received the gift of the law, reminding them God who led them out of captivity. They were to worship God alone.
Then, Joshua succeeded Moses to lead them over the Jordan River and into Canaan, in many battles to acquire the land. Our readings skip many wars between Israel and surrounding nations, but in light of what is happening in Israel and Palestine right now, it is important to consider that this region had been possessed by many tribes and nations long before God led the people of Israel there. Once the Israelites had carved out some land for themselves, one would think they would be content with their freedom and would live and worship God in peace.
You KNOW what happens next. You KNOW human nature. You’ve learned what happened to God’s people BEFORE, and what has happened SINCE. The people didn’t continue in God’s ways.
No longer wandering through the desert, the Israelites no longer had to lean on God for sustenance, for protection, for direction. And little by little, they stopped relying on God at all. In the book of Judges, we get this description: “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” Not what was right under the God’s law. Not what was right in their leaders’ words. What was right in their own eyes. That is, whatever they felt like. Canaan became chaos.
So, God raised up Judges – not like Judges we think of in courtrooms. These people were Truth Tellers. Wisdom Speakers. They called out the Israelites’ behavior. And the Israelites repented for a while, then the situation went from bad to worse. You may have heard some of the Judges’ names: people like Deborah, Gideon and Samson. Twelve judges in all. So, this is the time of our reading today. Ruth is just four chapters, telling the story of Naomi and Ruth.
After Naomi’s family arrives in Moab, her husband and sons die. She was a widow, and a refugee. She knew that the rest of her life would be difficult, barely getting by even among her people. The daughters-in-law were young women who still could re-marry and have families. They were no longer family to her. So, before Naomi left to return to Bethlehem, she gave them permission to return home.
Orpah takes her cue and leaves. Nothing wrong with her decision at all. And I picture Naomi at the fork in the road, looking Ruth in the eye. “Your sister-in-law is going home. Now go with her.”
Ruth’s refusal makes no sense at all. She wasn’t likely to find a husband in Israel. She would be a refugee as Naomi had been. Life would be hard and dangerous. She had no legal or moral obligation to stay with Naomi after her husband died. But in that moment, unexpectedly and inexplicably, Ruth redefined Naomi as her chosen family.
No turning back. I’m with you. I’m all in.
This little vignette reminds me of all the chosen family that have been a part of my life. College and seminary friends. Former colleagues that stay in touch across thousands of miles. Older people who became like grandparents to our son. Our own panel of wisdom keepers and truth tellers.
How does the story end? Ruth returned to Bethlehem with Naomi. And being younger, Ruth worked to provide for them, gleaning produce in the field. The land owner was kind and allowed her to follow his crews, drink the water they had drawn, and even instructed his crew not to pick so thoroughly. Ruth told Naomi about the landowner, and she realized it was Boaz, a relative. Naomi encouraged Ruth, and long story short, Boaz eventually claimed Naomi’s land, married Ruth, and their son, Obed’s grandson, David, become King David.
Three takeaways from Ruth:
Once again: we see hospitality, promise and blessing woven throughout. This story – and I can’t stress enough – a rare story of women carrying the promise – is filled with grace and love. Ruth’s choice to stay with Naomi, her concern for Naomi’s well-being, Naomi’s gentle encouragement of Ruth’s relationship to Boaz, Boaz’s kindness toward Ruth and Naomi – all model the way God’s people should act, during a time when most of Israel did what was right in their own eyes. God’s love is counter-cultural.
Second, in this story, we get a glimpse of God’s favor for the poor, the weak, the little – the ones that society forgets and leaves behind. The orphans, the poor, the grieving, the imprisoned, and in Ruth, the widows and the hungry. Naomi actually believes that God has forgotten her, and renames herself “Mara,” which means bitter. God walks with us in our pain and our need, and in God’s own time, allows Naomi to participate in the story as an ancestor of Jesus.
And Third, I believe this lesson opens our eyes to the way God is able to use surprising people as part of this story, 1400 years ago, or this very moment. Who would predict that God would tie the coming of Jesus to two widows, one of them who wasn’t even an Israelite? Who would expect that God’s surprising story would be carried by two women who had to struggle to feed themselves? And I wonder, people of God, if you are just as bewildered as I am, that God would choose people such as you and me to continue building God’s grace-giving, love-sharing, counter-cultural kindom right here, right now.
Amen
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